John Irons

John Irons

Managing Director, Foundation Initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation, Socrates Program

John Irons joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2012. As Managing Director, Foundation Initiatives, he leads much of the Foundation’s work in the United States, particularly initiatives on employment, and contributes more broadly to economic analysis of the Foundation’s initiatives. His focus includes youth employment and inclusive economies. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Irons was the Research Director at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. He was a tenure track Assistant Professor of Economics at Amherst College, and has worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and other DC-based think-tanks. Dr. Irons has authored numerous reports and articles on a range of economic topics including tax and budget policy, labor markets, and macroeconomic policy. He has won several awards for his economics websites, including top‐5 awards from The Economist and Forbes. Dr. Irons holds a bachelor’s in economics with High Honors from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Irons was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, as well as a Graduate Fellowship from the Harvard/MIT Research Training Group in Positive Political Economy.